I am the imam of a mosque and I receive zakah, and I have many debts. Is it permissible for me to take from it to pay off my debts?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, I am the imam of a mosque, and I receive zakah, and I have many debts. Yes, I am. I am the imam of a mosque, and I receive zakah, and I have many debts. Is it permissible for me to take from it to pay off my debts? Because they were for treatment, and they have burdened me, knowing that?
The Shaykh:
They were.
The questioner:
He says: Because they were? They were for treatment, his debts were for treatment or the cause was treatment, and they have burdened me, knowing that the creditors have not specified a time, and also the owners of the wealth who paid the zakah did not say to pay it to a specific person.
The Shaykh:
By Allah, my brothers, the matter of carrying trusts and taking zakah is a responsibility that a person is safe from, because there are people who announce and we accept this, and bring us this, and bring us this. This is carrying trusts. Bring us the zakat al-fitr, and they hoard it with them, and its time passes while it is with them. The zakah is detained from its time. And the people need it. So I do not see that a person should carry these things unless he is afflicted with something. If he is afflicted with something and is asked to pay it to someone, he estimates. But if he exposes himself and says, bring me your zakah and your charities, I will pay them, then the first thing is that in it is self-praise.
And secondly, that in it is temptation for the soul, because these dirhams may gather in large amounts, and then he covets them and eats them. And this has happened a lot. Wealth gathers with them in large amounts, and then when they will its abundance, they covet it. They marry with it, and they do not buy a house with it, and this happens because the soul is weak with wealth.
And the zakah is not detained; it is paid to its people immediately. The zakah is immediate because the people need it. Why do you detain it and keep it with you and ask about it now?
As for you taking to pay off your debts, you seek permission from them when they pay you. You say, I have debts and I am unable to pay. Do I pay? Do I pay it in my debts? If they give you permission, it does not contradict. But as for you taking it for another and then putting it in yourself, no, because the owner of the wealth did not intend this for you. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, I am the imam of a mosque, and I receive zakah, and I have many debts. Yes, I am. I am the imam of a mosque, and I receive zakah, and I have many debts. Is it permissible for me to take from it to pay off my debts? Because they were for treatment, and they have burdened me, knowing that?
The Shaykh:
They were.
The questioner:
He says: Because they were? They were for treatment, his debts were for treatment or the cause was treatment, and they have burdened me, knowing that the creditors have not specified a time, and also the owners of the wealth who paid the zakah did not say to pay it to a specific person.
The Shaykh:
By Allah, my brothers, the matter of carrying trusts and taking zakah is a responsibility that a person is safe from, because there are people who announce and we accept this, and bring us this, and bring us this. This is carrying trusts. Bring us the zakat al-fitr, and they hoard it with them, and its time passes while it is with them. The zakah is detained from its time. And the people need it. So I do not see that a person should carry these things unless he is afflicted with something. If he is afflicted with something and is asked to pay it to someone, he estimates. But if he exposes himself and says, bring me your zakah and your charities, I will pay them, then the first thing is that in it is self-praise.
And secondly, that in it is temptation for the soul, because these dirhams may gather in large amounts, and then he covets them and eats them. And this has happened a lot. Wealth gathers with them in large amounts, and then when they will its abundance, they covet it. They marry with it, and they do not buy a house with it, and this happens because the soul is weak with wealth.
And the zakah is not detained; it is paid to its people immediately. The zakah is immediate because the people need it. Why do you detain it and keep it with you and ask about it now?
As for you taking to pay off your debts, you seek permission from them when they pay you. You say, I have debts and I am unable to pay. Do I pay? Do I pay it in my debts? If they give you permission, it does not contradict. But as for you taking it for another and then putting it in yourself, no, because the owner of the wealth did not intend this for you. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [78 /1350] أنا إمام مسجد وتأتيني زكوات وعلي ديون كثيرة، فهل لي أن أخذ منها لسداد ديوني؟ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.